Menghai Hong Sheng Tea Factory

Not all of the teas I purchased in Kunming last year 2013 were tasted. I didn’t even open this one to take a look. This puppy is very tightly packed and was wet stored, manifesting those bits of “white frost” that made me a bit apprehensive.

Anyway, among the teas I purchased, which were mostly minis because I’m mainly endeavoring to get patients to drink tea for matters related to cholesterol, this one was the find, as I paid considerably less than what it was being retailed for online.

I busted into a bit of it almost immediately, as I wanted to know what justified the price. Well, I’d say its mellowness. It is visually beautiful, with many flecks of gold and brown throughout.

It had a taste that was light years more refined than the other other cakes. No flavours that challenged the drinker, no bitter, not floral, just sweet, mature ready for drinking immediately. This was not a tea that needed to be placed in a ceramic or zi-sha container. It was already drinkable.

Well, several months into the game, I decided to provide a systematic rundown. All told, I ran 8 or 9 infusions: 15s/15s/15s/20s/20s/20s/30s/1m/1m.

Round #1: Toasted marshmallow, smooth, gentle, liquor brassy yellow. Gentle is my first impression.

Round #2: Goldenrod liquor little floaties when held to the light, sweet aroma, tastes of marshmallow and vanilla, sweeter taste than Round #1, hint o’ bitter at the blade of tongue.

Round #3: Sweet marshmallow, bitter at back of throat, color is still intense.

Round #4: Hint of wet mold, bitterness arising, sweet taste, rich golden liquor.

Round #5: Lighter gold, more tannic, bitter, vanilla tannic finish.

Round #6: Lighter gold liquor, bitsy leaves with stems, bitter, sweet tannic. Small leaves.

Round #7 & 8: Lighter liquor cloudy, no sweetness, some tannins.

Over all, the tea is good possessing smells and flavors that I’d likely not associate with a raw puer. There’s no sense of smoke in this. As the infusions run on at the end, there’s more of the standard green-tea taste. I’m talking about the 7th-infusion or so. The wife and a patient had positive feedback as well.